He was such a good foil to Archie Bunker. Hemsley dead, and the Kardashians going strong. Hello, God, hey, listen, are you paying attention at all to what's going on down here?posted by anothermug at 6:29 PM on July 24, 2012 [5 favorites]

The AV Club obituary expands on a brief line in the Wikipedia article on Hemsley -- Norman Lear devised George Jefferson, but Hemsley was busy on Broadway. Lear wrote Weezie Jefferson into "All in the Family" anyway, but intentionally kept George off-screen (like Norm's wife on "Cheers"), then two years later plugged Hemsley into the prepared role. Two. Years. Later.

Imagine if they'd brought Vera into the cast of "Cheers" two years after Norm started complaining about her. It would have sucked. No one could ever have played Maris on "Frasier," for that matter. And yet, despite the anticipation, Hemsley was so obviously worth it.posted by Etrigan at 6:36 PM on July 24, 2012 [14 favorites]

.

He always cracked me up. I would have guessed him older though.posted by ian1977 at 6:37 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

I will forever remember him as Deacon Ernest Frye in "Amen" - I was a bit too young to watch the Jeffersons. Although I had to look up the name of the show, and had merged "227" with "Amen" in my memory so that I was totally confused to find out there was no Deacon character in 227.posted by antifuse at 6:40 PM on July 24, 2012

My favorite performance of Sherman Hemsley was in the musical "Purlie" that I must have watched a hundred times when I was a boy. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find his big number "The Bigger they Are" online.posted by ColdChef at 6:41 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

If I remember correctly, he was a kind, soft, man. Not at all like the characters he portrayed. Funny how I will forever know the name, George Jefferson...And Weezy. Like, that WAS black television(wow). There weren't that many channels. So nuff respect Mr. Hemsley. The Jeffersons on ice (no pun) was total love. RIPposted by Flex1970 at 6:46 PM on July 24, 2012

Damn, that's sad! I had such a crush on Sherman when I was about 13 -- he was so feisty and unsinkable.posted by FelliniBlank at 6:48 PM on July 24, 2012

Thanks for the laughs, Mr. Jefferson. You and Mr. Bentley are probably duking it out right now.

Oh, and this...

George Jefferson: World’s Biggest Gong Fan?This is one of the most mind-blowingly weird anecdotes MAGNET has ever published. Ten years ago, writer Mitch Myers profiled prog-rock legend Daevid Allen (Soft Machine, Gong), who told us of his strange encounter with actor Sherman Hemsley (a.k.a. George Jefferson). Here is the story of Hemsley’s obsession with flying teapots and his alleged den of iniquity that housed an LSD lab, a harem of naked girls and crack/freebase depots on every floor.posted by porn in the woods at 6:59 PM on July 24, 2012 [4 favorites]

I watched the entire cycle of All In The Family not too long ago (easy when it's in 2-hour blocks 5 nights a week, assisted by a DVR). I remember the whole introduction of George as an off-screen character and him finally appearing as a real character. It was a great moment in the series.

That The Jeffersons then became a spin-off was an outstanding development. The 1970s were such a fertile time for groundbreaking television that was actually socially important in a lot of ways. We don't see much of that anymore, if at all. I kind of miss it.

Thanks, Mr. Hemsley, for being so indelible in the minds of so many. You will be missed.

Hemsley was a self-proclaimed fan of 1970s progressive rock bands including Yes, Gentle Giant and Nektar. On his appearance on Dinah!, Hemsley performed a dance to the Gentle Giant song "Proclamation" from The Power and the Glory. After his dance, Shore laughed and asked what kind of music that was. Sherman then gave a five-minute speech about Gentle Giant. In 1999, he collaborated with Yes founder Jon Anderson on an album titled Festival of Dreams which was not released.

So, I never really watched it as a kid, but I did know the theme song vaguely. In 3rd grade, I chased this girl around the playground to get her to kiss me (yes, I had issues)... And her friends kicked my ass, one grabbed my arm, threw me on the ground then another one stood over me as I stared up at her and from her mouth came the theme song...

MOOOOVIN ON UP!

(I have no clue why, exactly, she picked that song to sing, but there she was towering over my fallen body and singing the Jeffersons song).

To this day, that's my biggest memory related to the show.

I always liked him, for some reason. I think he vaguely looked like this one kid I knew and something about his 'tude was appealing (even though it seemed so wrong).

And how awesome that he was into prog rock.posted by symbioid at 7:12 PM on July 24, 2012

I remember Chris Rock saying that he loved the character of George Jefferson, because Lear had the courage to write Mr. Jefferson as very prejudiced against white people, which wasn't that unheard of for the age of the character he was supposed to play. The world's biggest Gong fan is a nice touch, too.

Sherman Hemsley had a face that always made me smile.. whether on the Jeffersons or reprising his character (I guess) in those Denny's ads. Thank you for those smiles (and the laughs!), Sherman. R.I.P.posted by Mael Oui at 8:06 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

See, this is why I come here. So the guy who played George Jefferson dies, and otherwise that'd be it and gone. But I click into the MeFi post, and the next thing I know it's all prog-rock and Hollywood pleasure domes and some television archetype from my distant childhood is now further proof of everyone's continuing ability to develop their deepest loves & sins -- their own selves -- and to be a world unto themselves. Thank you.posted by $0up at 9:54 PM on July 24, 2012 [6 favorites]

And apparently he was the world's biggest Gong fan! Who knew?

Wow ... Of course it should come as no surprise that celebrities often live lives of excess, but I was not expecting Sherman Hemsley to have an LSD lab in his basement.

Sherman then gave a five-minute speech about Gentle Giant. In 1999, he collaborated with Yes founder Jon Anderson on an album titled Festival of Dreams which was not released

That was also unexpected... I'm not into prog rock so much anymore, but there was a time I might have been able to give similar speeches.

The spinoff was never as inspired as All in the Family, but it was groundbreaking. Hemsley played George with enthusiasm and filled the anti-heroic role perfectly, as someone sympathetic and despicable at the same time. I grew up with The Jeffersons. The character of George Jefferson is permanently etched into my memory from childhood. And now I know the guy playing George was tripping his head off during his free time and hanging out/collaborating with prog rock stars. I like him even better now.posted by krinklyfig at 9:59 PM on July 24, 2012 [2 favorites]

There were a few TV shows that were verboten in our house - my racist father, couldn't stand Benson for example - but The Jeffersons we watched faithfully, every week.

It speaks volumes for the show, and Helmsley specifically, that they could reach across that particular divide. I think my dad saw some of himself in George Jefferson. Irascible, flawed but ultimately decent and lovable.posted by Xoebe at 11:08 PM on July 24, 2012 [4 favorites]

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